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Oyama Iwao (1842
�
1916) was a
Japanese
field marshal, and one of the leaders who led the
Meiji Restoration.
He was born in
Satsuma, which is now
Kagoshima. He was a nephew of
Saigo, with whom his elder brother sided in the
Satsuma insurrection of
1877, but he nevertheless remained loyal to the imperial cause and
commanded a brigade against the
insurgents.
When war broke out
between China and Japan in
1894, he was appointed
Commander-in-Chief of the second Japanese army corps, which, landing on
the
Liaotung Peninsula, carried
Port Arthur by storm, and, subsequently crossing to
Shantung, captured the fortress of
Wei-hai-wei.
For these services he received the title of
marquess, and, three years later, he became field-marshal. When (1904)
his country became embroiled in
war with Russia, he was named commander-in-chief of the Japanese armies
in
Manchuria, and in the sequel of Japan's victory the
mikado bestowed on him (1907) the rank of prince. He received the
British Order of Merit in
1906.
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